Shepperton robbery

Tracey had lived in Upper Halliford for more than a decade without once being a victim of crime. But that changed on Sunday 13 September 2009, when three men burst into her home. Tracey was not just robbed that night; she was tied up in her own kitchen, along with her 16-year-old daughter and in front of her four-year-old son. The robbers, who left a bottle of industrial strength drain cleaner at the property, escaped with all the cash from the family safe.

Tracey and her partner Paul live at home with their four-year-old son Jake and Tracey’s daughter Amy. Having spent the Sunday together, Tracey would usually go to bingo on a Sunday evening, with Paul staying in to look after the children. The evening of the attack was slightly different though; Paul had gone to Wimbledon to watch banger racing with friends, leaving Tracey alone to look after the kids.

Having put Jake to bed about 7.30pm, Tracey was watching television in the lounge downstairs when she heard a knock at the door. She was unsurprised; Amy was due to go out with friends that evening.

But as she opened the door, three men burst into the house. Two ran immediately upstairs, as one forced her back into the kitchen. He pushed her onto the floor and made her take her rings off, shouting “don’t look at me” in Tracey’s face. Described as a white male, about 6ft 1” with very short, light hair and a thin face, he tried to put his hands around Tracey’s mouth to prevent her from speaking. He was wearing a grey hooded top and dark tracksuit bottoms, and had white sports socks over his hands.

Meanwhile, the other two men met Tracey’s daughter Amy on the stairs and demanded that she go downstairs. Amy refused to – she had to get her brother. Once she’d got Jake out of bed, the two were pushed downstairs to join their mum in the kitchen.

The man who pushed them downstairs appeared to be the leader of the gang. A white male, stocky, mid to late 40s, around 6ft tall with short “salt and pepper” hair, he was clean shaven and wearing a blue/grey checked shirt. Described by Tracey as “mouthy”, he was aggressive to the family throughout the entire ordeal. The final man was the only one of the three who had his face covered; he was wearing a scarf around the lower part of his face and did not talk at all. Tracey believes he is known to the family.

After he’d dragged the kids downstairs, the stocky man went upstairs to help look for the safe, They ransacked Tracey’s wardrobe but couldn’t find it. Swearing and shouting aggressively, the gang leader went back downstairs and dragged Tracey upstairs again, where she showed them to the safe. Panicking, she couldn’t remember the number. Only when the man threatened to hurt her children did she manage to type in the code. Once the safe was open, the masked man put the envelope behind the waistband of his trousers; Tracey noticed that he had a very flat stomach and was wearing Calvin Klein boxers. Having got what they came for, the men took Tracey back downstairs to the kitchen.

But the ordeal was not over yet. As the men were about to leave, the first man suggested tying the family up, grabbing some extension lead from a lamp in the hallway. Despite Tracey’s boy begging them not to, then men tied Amy and Tracey’s arms behind their backs before escaping. Left unable to move, Tracey implored the toddler to untie them but he refused. He was scared of the men coming back.

Witnesses claim to have seen an extremely dirty silver N-Reg BMW 2 door saloon speeding away for the scene at about the time of the attack.

When police arrived at the scene, they found an industrial strength drain cleaner left outside the house. Police believe that, had Paul been in at the time, the gang would have threatened to use the cleaner as a weapon – it can cause blindness and burns.

Just as life was beginning to return to normal for the family, it was unrest again when, on the night of the 24-25 September, Paul’s car was attacked outside the family’s home. Every panel burnt by some type of industrial acid (likely paint thinner), leading police to believe that the robbery was not an isolated incident but part of a deliberate series of attacks.

The young family, particularly Jake and Amy, have been left in a state of constant fear at the thought that these attacks may be linked, and the possibility of more.

• • Do you recognise the men in the E-fits and fitting these descriptions? Male 1: Male, 6ft, late 40s, greying hair, large build, blue-chequered shirt Male 2: 6ft 1", shaved blonde hair, very thin, grey hoodie Male 3: Washboard stomach, white Calvin Klein underwear.

• • Do you know who owns the extremely dirty silver N Reg BMW saloon? Do you know who the owner is?

• • Do you recognise the bottle of drain cleaner?

• • Do you know who vandalised the silver Range Rover on the night of the 24-25 September 2009?

• • Do you recognise the rings that were stolen from Tracey? Have they been sold or given to you recently?

Please use the form below to contact us about this appeal (items marked * are required).